Spring-Time Contest!

Congratulations to you, too, Michael!

 

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Congrats to the other winners and thanks for a fun and informative contest! I enjoyed doing the research.

 

Congrats to you, too, Jay.

 

I am not sure if I sent you my address or not. Did I??

 

My First Submission


The West Point Bullion Depository was erected in 1937 as a storage facility for silver, earning its name as the Fort Knox of Silver. From 1973 till 1986, it also minted cents, and, from 1980 till present, gold medallions.

On March 31, 1988, the West Point Bullion Depository gained its official status as a United States Mint branch, and was re-designated as the West Point Mint. Today, it is still a storage facility, being second only to Fort Knox for gold storage. It is also a major producer of gold coins.

The West Point Mint is located near the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point, as the West Point Bullion Depository was built on land that was previously part of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Four of the five 5-star generals of World War 2 were alumni of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point -- Generals Douglas MacArthur, Dwight David Eisenhower, Henry Hap Arnold and Omar Nelson Bradley. [General George C. Marshall graduated from the Virginia Military Institute.]

On March 21, 2013, 10 days to the 25th anniversary of the West Point Mint gaining its status as a United States Mint branch, the 2013 Five-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Program was launched, in recognition of the above 5-Star generals of World War 2 who also either attended or taught at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College [C.G.S.C.].

For the above coin program, the USD 5.00 Gold Proof and USD 1.00 Silver Uncirculated Coins were minted at West Point Mint, with the 'W' mintmark on them.

[Sources: Wikipedia, U.S. Mint website, World Mint Coins website]

 

My Second Submission

This submission contains facts I came across when doing research for this contest.

It relates to the date March 31, 1963, and involves two numismatically significant entities -- the 35th U.S. President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the Gettysburg Battlefield.

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 01, 1863 till July 03, 1863 in Pennsylvania. It was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and marked the turning point of the war, with Union Major-General George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, thus ending General Lee's invasion of the north. The site of the battle has been preserved as the Gettysburg Battlefield or the Gettysburg National Military Park.

On March 31, 1963, the 100th Anniversary Year of the Battle of Gettysburg, President John F. Kennedy, along with some friends and family members, toured the Gettysburg Battlefield area. This Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013, will mark the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's famous tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield. Coincidentally, March 31, 1963 also fell on a Sunday, although it was not an Easter Sunday.

In 1936, the Commemorative Half Dollar for the Battle of Gettysburg was produced. It had a very low mintage of only 26928 coins. In 2011, the Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter was the first to be released for the year in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. This coin was the overall sixth in the series.

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated at Dallas, Texas, which forms part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. As a tribute to the slain president, the Kennedy Half Dollar was proposed by Kennedy's successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, on December 10, 1963. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the proposal on December 17, 1963, and it was passed into law on December 30, 1963.

The use of existing works by U.S. Mint sculptors Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro allowed dies of the new Kennedy Half Dollar to be prepared quickly, and the first coins of this series were minted in 1964. A ceremonial first strike was held at both the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Denver, Colorado branches of the U.S. Mint on February 11, 1964.

 

By the way, Kasia, I really like your avatar!!

 

I got the Lincoln Cent binder today. Wow! What a great prize! I can't wait to move the cents I have in my Whitman Folders. Thanks for an informative and very rewarding contest!